"cats" and "dogs"

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I just feel the need to share this. I am participating in a women's professional development seminar series. Before the first session, we were asked to take a short Myers-Briggs evaluation and email our four-letter code to the coordinator.

At the first session, we all put on our name tags. Each tag also had a cute animal sticker on it, which I assumed was for decoration. Mine had a kitten on it. Turns out that everyone had either a puppy or a kitten on her tag. We were then instructed to group up according to "dogs" and "cats." There were about 12 dogs, and only 3 cats. (Four tables total; three dog tables and our cat table.)

We were told to talk about and write down how we feel during the mixers/socials that precede many seminars and conferences. Of course, we three kitties were instantly on the same wavelength. We discussed never knowing when to start a conversation, how to end one, what the "rules of the game" were, etc.

Turns out that we had been grouped according to introverts (cats) and extroverts (dogs). I thought it was really interesting when the coordinator mentioned that we cats spoke one at a time while the others listened, while the dogs all talked at once. OK, so far, no problem.

The second session was last night. Everyone walked in and sat down at random, and nobody thought anything of it. That is, until the coordinator came up to my table and laughed and pointed out that the three cats were all sitting together. She remarked, jokingly, something along the lines of "maybe we need to break you guys up." Oh, we got the underlying message loud and clear: "Introversion is a defect and a weakness, and if you would split up so that each of you sat with extroverts, you would learn to do better." We sure didn't see her going around to the other tables and telling the dogs that they needed to split up and learn to be comfortable around the cats!

Uh, no, sorry, that's not how it works. The only thing we would learn is another reminder of how excruciating it is to be in an overstimulating environment. After she walked away, the three of us just looked at each other and grumbled things like, "Hello? We're introverts. We are sitting with other introverts so that we don't have panic attacks or run out of the room screaming. That's WHY we are introverts!! !"

The session actually went really well other than that. It's just that the whole "introvert = wrong" is REALLY getting old at this point. The other two "cats," to my knowledge, aren't even on the spectrum. They're just not into all the social interaction stuff.

The third session is tonight, and it's a real-life social mixer. I would not be surprised (or displeased) at this point if I ended up spending most of those two hours in a relatively quiet corner, talking with the other two cats.

Comments??

I'm with the cats on this one

Perhaps I'm over-thinking this... but quite honestly I was wondering where I would fit into that group, as in the beginning I would have taken one sticker of each. So again, I would be the odd one out. Does this mean I'm sometimes introvert, sometimes extrovert? I guess thats correct.. Then you have to get into what type of dog you are... I love german shepherds, which is an aloof breed. I also love siamese cats, they love to talk. Tossing those into the mix proves I'm really weird. Thanks.

I'm more of a cat, than a dog.

That would make me a cat.

I would rather be friends with two introverts than an entire table of extroverts. Be a cat!

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I have HFA, ADHD, OCD & Tourette syndrome. I love animals, especially my bunnies and hamster. I skate in a roller derby team (but I'll try not to bite )

Poll

Me is a kitty except when overly excited/emotional

I feel you- I am a cat too. I didn't come from cats, though. When my sister and mother would sit down to chat I couldn't get a word in edgewise. Usually I would just want to correct someone on a fact they got wrong anyway or interject with a fact I knew, LOL. So I guess it probably is just best to shut up and stick with other cats or stay in my room. I really don't think changing into a dog is the answer either. Then there would just be more loud barking going on.

Reaction 1 - cat = introvert is stupid; I have only met one really introverted cat; introvert does not equate to loner - and cats are not by any means necessarily either, nor are dogs consistently sociable eithefr with humans or with other dogs.

Reaction 2 - how totally typical; a healthy happy and asocial person is seen as sick, and someone I know who CANNOT be alone for more than about an hour is seen as the norm.

Yes, it gets old. It got old a long time ago.

Meow.

(hand up)

Cat.

That is all.